He pleaded guilty to 11 counts of making indecent images of children and one count of distributing indecent images of children at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday January 29.

Curl had worked as a nurse at Major Minors, in Godalming, Surrey and even babysat for children there, although none of the disturbing images found in his possession related to children at the nursery.

A parent of a two year old at the nursery found the sentencing proceedings “disappointing”.

They told getwestlondon : “I don’t feel the crimes committed by Mark Curl have been appropriately reflected in the sentence given.

“The judge’s comments that he 'hopes parents will be able to take comfort from the fact that there is no evidence that children from the nursery were included in the images', found by police, shows how little awareness there is of the effect this case has had on some parents."

'Deeply distressing'

Curl pleaded guilty to possessing images ranging in severity, including more than a thousand still or moving Category A images - the most extreme kind - stored on his mobile phone, laptop and a memory card.

There were more than 10,000 images or videos of lower categories of child porn. Curl also shared two Category B indecent images of children by uploading them to the internet.

The concerned parent added: “The very fact that this man, who enjoys viewing images of children as young as two years old being subjected to penetrative sexual activity such as anal rape, has been in a position of trust as a nursery nurse for the last six years, and in close day-to-day contact with young children, is deeply distressing.”

Curl was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment, with the 12 counts served concurrently. However the sentence was suspended for two years, meaning if he does not commit further offences he will not be sent to prison. He must also complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

He was also made subject to an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order, must sign the Sex Offenders Register, and is now prohibited from working with children.

Busy Bees, who owns the Goldaming Major Minors Nursery, confirmed that Mark Curl was a former employee.

A spokesperson said: “Since his arrest in October for possession of four indecent images of children we have been liaising with all agencies and have provided any information they requested.

“After a rigorous and intense investigation by the Metropolitan Police it is with great relief that we now have been categorically told that there is no link between the activities of this individual and the nursery or the children who attend.

“The events surrounding this case have been a harrowing experience for everyone.

“We have been in regular contact with all the agencies involved and although information has been very limited due to the nature of the investigation, we have tried very hard to keep our parents informed at all times."

'Difficult few months'

Busy Bees pledges to continue to provide support to parents.

The spokesperson said: “The care and safety of our children is, and always will be, our highest priority.

“We have robust employment and recruitment processes and procedures in place and operate with high numbers of staff making it difficult for any inappropriate behaviour to go unnoticed.

“Our staff also fully understand their duty to safeguard children and are regularly reminded of their responsibilities to raise any concerns about the behaviour of a colleague.”

Rachael Gurney Nursery Manager, thanked her “devoted team” at the nursery and the Busy Bees team for their “care and professionalism”.

She said: “I would also like to thank our parents for their support and commitment through what we know has been an incredibly difficult few months.

“We just want to put this behind us now and focus on our day job, which is to deliver the very best outcomes for our children.”